Vallejo efforts at promoting wine, beer tasting rooms supported

Vallejo's "industrial American waterfront grit" might be just the right draw for a brewpub or beer manufacturer, Vallejoan and Napa winery owner Kent Fortner said Wednesday night.

Other residents made cases for Vallejo's natural synergy for wine manufacturers.

More than a dozen people turned out for a city-led community meeting at Vallejo City Hall on an upcoming proposal to loosen certain city zoning rules regarding tasting rooms and beer/wine manufacturers on Vallejo's waterfront and Mare Island.

City Senior Planner Michelle Hightower said the city has received about four or five separate inquiries for related businesses in the past, but none have pursued the idea since.

"We've had the interest, but nobody's stepped up to the plate yet," Vallejo Insurance owner Tom Atwood said at the meeting, adding one new business could cause a groundswell. "I think it's great that you guys are looking at this. It's very important to be proactive."

The city proposal would exclude Mare Island and the waterfront from a citywide 1,000-foot minimum distance between alcohol-serving establishments, and allow beer and wine tasting rooms associated with manufacturers in those two locations. Such new businesses would still require city permitting and Vallejo Planning Commission approval.

Generally, speakers at the meeting and on the city's online forum, Open City Hall (www.ci.vallejo.ca.us) have been supportive of the proposals, though some have voiced concerns about maintaining peace and order while encouraging the alcohol-centric businesses.

Resident Katy Miessner said she did not wish to put a damper on the proposed zoning updates, but worried how the city would monitor the new establishments for compliance, and how it would handle the issue when there were problems.

Liat Meitzenheimer, a member of the Vallejo Alcohol and Tobacco Policy Coalition, suggested that city officials should reach out to Police Chief Joseph Kreins for his take on how these new businesses could tax his resources.

Attendees also revived an old discussion on imposing an annual city permitting fee for alcohol- and tobacco-selling establishments that would fund city enforcement on sales restrictions.

The meeting was a precursor to city planning amendment proposals going before the Planning Commission -- likely in April -- and the Vallejo City Council -- likely in May. If the proposals continue on the current schedule, the changes could be effective as early as June 27.

For more information, contact Hightower at 648-4506 or mhightower@ci.vallejo.ca.us.

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @JYVallejo.